Stogie Time!!!

Sitting on the front deck of the boat with Kim watching the sunset over the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands.
There exists no better time or place on this planet for a cigar.
If it feels right, fire one up!!!

Have a Happy Christmas Break all !!!!

Whisgars

Ave Maria St George Belicoso - Cigar Review

Ave Maria St George Belicoso - Cigar Review     

                 

Time in Humidor 2 months @ 70%

Size: 6x54 Belicoso 

Blend: Nicaraguan long fillers and binders, finished with a heavily fermented Ecuadorian sun-grown habano wrapper leaf.

Construction: Exceptionally attractive with a sleek, oily, consistently dark brown leather coloured wrapper, no significant veins with invisible seams. The Pack is tight from start to finish with no lumps, bumps or soft spots of any kind, finished with a triple cap. There was one small split in the wrapper from mishandling as it was not there when I first received the stick.

Worth a mention, this stick is very heavy to feel for its size. Weight was 18 grams. It was heavy alright.

Smell: Wrapper, Dark timber and dried Hay with hints of leather. Foot; tobacco, dried hay and spice.

Cold Draw: Flavours on the cold draw consisted heavily of dried hay with leather, coffee and wood. It also imparted a gentle spice onto the mouth and lips. Draw resistance is good to firm after a very small cut.

First Light: Flavours on the first light consisted of mellow coffee, wood, leather with a subtle spicy tingle hiding in the background. Body would be a light to medium, flavours are exceedingly smooth. Smoke production is excellent with good clouds of semi thick average moisture content smoke. 

Aroma: Very woody with gentle hints of white bread. 

First 3^rd – 20min

Flavours on the first third were the same as the initial light, on a whole the character of this cigar is exceptionally smooth. The flavours are quite robust but they are smoothly melded together with a synergy I can't quite explain. The body is still light to medium, I got to feeling at this stage this cigar was hiding something. The burn was excellent sporting a near razor sharp line.

As the first third progressed the intensity of the cigar started to increase gently, with the addition of bread the profile was lifting upward closer to a solid medium.

Second 3^rd – 39 min

Into the second 3^rd the profile started to shift gently. The spice had now disappeared the coffee toned down slightly and developed a sweetness, whilst the leather increased. All of this while still maintaining the luxurious smooth character. The body now has shifted to a solid medium. The burn continued to maintain a perfect straight line all the way round the cigar.

I had to re-cut the head as the small cut I made previously was starting to clog up. The cap on this cigar appeared to be very strong compared to most, even after being wet it cut flawlessly.

I observed this cigars ash was very powdery, soft and light compared to most cigars as I’ve had to pry it from my belly button on 2 separate occasions now.

Third 3^rd - 1 hour 10 min

Flavours in the third 3^rd made another gentle transition, the body slightly increase passed medium into the medium – full area. The wood increased significantly as did the leather. Coffee was making a comeback with a slight change, it was no longer sweet rather a smooth rich espresso. These transitions contributed to the increase in body whilst maintaining its enjoyable smooth character.

Late in the third our old friend heat started to make an appearance, quite bearable but I elected to retire the stick. I’ve enjoyed this stick far too much to let it be ruined by unsavory flavours. Retired the stick at 1 hour 33 mins.

Worth of note, this cigar smoked extremely slowly in the last half, I would have had to go out of my way to get the cherry to glow bright.The burn as always remained, razor sharp.

 

Overall this cigar was brilliant, exceptional even. I’m upset I only bought one to try. This cigar is beautifully smooth while sporting rich flavours while in no way being overpowering. These cigars compared to the rest of the market are expensive, but in my opinion worth every cent.

If you haven’t tried one of these cigars, you have to. They are beautifully constructed, taste and smoke like an absolute dream while standing out in the crowd with a very unique profile.

The smooth character of this stick pair well with a sharp but light whisky like the Chivas or Glenfiddich lines.

Thanks for reading, 

Whisgars

Montecristo Espada Ricasso – Cigar review

Montecristo Espada Ricasso – Cigar review

Time in humidor approx. 1 month @ 68%

Size: 5x54

Blend: Habano Jalapa Vintage 2010 wrapper and a blend of vintage Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from Jalapa, Ometepe, and Condega.

Being a bit of a rat with a gold tooth I just couldn’t resist getting my hands on this ritzy stick, recently released by Montecristo. Upon arrival the Ritz was indisputable; the well-made box was upholstered with brown suede with polished brass corners and embellished with some stylish artwork. Opening the box revealed a card telling the story of the Espada etc. The cigars themselves, as you can see, are draped in more robes and gold than old time royalty. A real pleasure to look at and all this elegance has left me expecting a pretty damn impressive cigar. It had best not disappoint…. Onward! 

Construction: After removing 2 of the bands to get a proper look at this stick I discovered a consistently dark caramel colored, slightly oily wrapper with barely visible seams and negligible veins. This stick throughout its length was consistently packed with no soft or hard spots. Inspection of the triple cap revealed a generous application of gum to attach the cap, not that this will be an issue, it can get a little sticky if not kept moist. In addition I discovered a split in the cap down the wrapper stopping on a vein. I was hoping this wouldn’t create issues when smoking. I don’t think it was a construction fault, rather a case of mishandling. Overall it appeared this stick had quite a bit of effort put into its leaf selection, construction and quality control.

Smell: on the wrapper there was a strong presence of Hay with slight hints of tobacco and wood in the background. Foot: Dried grass with hints of nose tingling spices.

Cold draw: I went with a punch on this stick to try and keep the cap as intact as possible to ensure this little split doesn’t turn into a train wreck. Punching the stick exacerbated the split something fierce; off to a brilliant start.

Flavors on the cold draw consisted of a simple Hay and wood. Draw resistance was perfect.

I shuffled the remaining tight band up to the new horizontal split in an attempt to stop the split from running and writing this stick off.

Initial light: Flavours on the initial light consisted of a good rush of Nicaraguan pepper over a robust combination of hay and rich wood. Initial assessment, this would have to be the woodiest cigar I have ever had to date. Body - medium with plumes of thick rich smoke

First 3^rd 10 min

Into the first 3^rd this stick was already starting to change its profile to a definite medium full. The spice was dialing down and becoming smoother. Prevailing flavours became hay, rich timber surrounded by a pleasant coffee and toast. Hiding in the background were timid hints of leather and something sweet which I couldn’t identify. It proved to be a very complex stick with a very diverse flavor profile.

At the 15 minute mark the burn started to go wild, close inspection of the wrapper indicated a tunnel which looked to go 12mm in past the burn line. After bumping the ash off to inspect, this was confirmed.

Re-lighting the cigar delivered another quick rush of pepper which quickly dissipated and came back to business as usual.

As the first 3^rd progressed this stick started to impart a very pleasant oil onto the palate which contributed to the plumes of smoke this stick was creating, it was so thick it felt like I could chew it.

Transitioning into the second 3^rd close inspection of the stick indicated the tunneling was starting again

Second 3^rd – 30 min

To rectify the tunneling issue, rather than ashing and relighting or cutting, I ran with a purge which worked a treat. Purging burnt 10mm off the stick on a matter of seconds which made it very hot, as a result there was a quick dose of heat which quickly subsided and came back to the flavors previously experienced in the first third with no changes.

The ash on this cigar from the start has been very flaky but holding well.

During the second third the body of this stick has shifted closer to the full body mark without becoming harsh.

The tunneling issues were present throughout the entire stick making for horrid burn and ash.

Transitioning into the third 3^rd the pepper was dialing down but still a contributor to the consistent flavours of the stick.

Perpetual tunneling and purging was starting to take its toll on this cigar with the early introduction of heat at the half way point.

Third 3^rd – 47 min

Flavours in the stick remained consistent with the slight sweetness in the background gently increasing. The sweetness I can only identify as sugar.

As the third 3^rd progressed the tunneling issue finally relented and along with it the heat. Flavours came back to that of the late first third but with a full body.

The burn was now representing a well-made stick with very little variance all the way round. I elected to retire the stick at 1 hour 5 mins as the heat was coming on fast and strong.

Overall this stick was one of the more complex cigars I have encountered with a very interesting combination of excellent flavours. Given the brilliant flavours of this stick and its complexity its consistency from start to finish makes this stick everything other than boring.  I managed to stay positive overall in my opinion of this cigar due to its impressive flavor profile.

The burn issues were absolutely atrocious and really detracted from the overall smoking experience. The burn issues experienced during this review were not an isolated event; I smoked another one of these cigars yesterday and experienced the exact same issues which I found equally unfortunate. Of the 5 I have smoked 2 have been duds.

I think the apprentice rolled this stick and the boss wrapped it giving it the appearance of a high class cigar while performing like an absolute dud.

Construction issues aside these Ricasso’s are brilliant sticks and I am definitely going to procure another box with hopes for better construction from a different box. I think the blend of this cigar is exemplary and if correctly constructed will be a definite 90+ premium, based on their price they damn well better be.

Suggested pairing would have to be a dry lager, attempting to pair Whisky with such a full body could become overwhelming.

Thanks for reading,

-Whisgars

Gurkha Black Dragon Fury Torpedo – Cigar Review

Gurkha Black Dragon Fury Torpedo – Cigar Review

From Humidor @ 69%, settling for 2-3 months

Size: 7x56 Torpedo

Blend:  Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, two binders, Nicaraguan Habano and a Cameroon.  Inside is a blend of Nicaraguan and Peruvian long-fillers.

Construction: The appearance of the cigar is excellent, the chocolate brown wrapper was wafer thin and opaque which made the veins very obvious even though they were insignificant.  No significant blemishes in the cigar along its considerable length. This stick felt inconsistently packed, the head was hard as a rock and the foot slightly soft with hard and soft spots along its length, nothing serious by any stretch but noticeable during a critical inspection.

Smell: On the wrapper the scent consisted of Sweet coffee, clove, mint, dry grass and very subtle chocolate. Foot: wet hay and coffee.

Cold draw: Flavours on the cold draw consisted only of dry hay with barely noticeable hints of coffee.  Draw resistance with a small cut was firm but manageable, I was gambled on it opening up once got warm.

First Light: Flavours on the first light consisted primarily of cloves, bitter chocolate with subtle hints of licorice and sweet tobacco. Body overall would have had to have been a medium with good thick smoke output.

Aroma: Tobacco and cloves

First 3^rd 16min                                                                                                                                    

A few minutes in the draw really opened up to a prefect level of resistance which gave rise to an increase in smoke production, the cigar was now producing plumes of thick rich full flavoured smoke. 25mm down the smoke the character of this stick started to change, body went from medium to notch shy of full. The flavours in the first light were starting to meld together in a very pleasant fashion which made for an extremely full meaty body. At this stage the cigar was starting to show its true colours; a dragon within? Maybe not, unless it wears a suit. Some burn issues were present. 30mm down I suspected the cigar was starting to tunnel, removing the ash confirmed this, quick touchup and back in action. Up until the tunnel the burn was quite acceptable with only minimal variance.  Throughout the first third the body & strength kept increasing to a solid full without becoming in any way harsh.

Second 3^rd – 50 min

The second third saw no new introductions to the flavor profile, the bitter chocolate was starting to get a little sweeter, other than that no change. The burn started to get undesirably wild with 10 mm of variance from side to side, it didn’t look to need a touchup, it was just ugly.

As the third progressed the burn continued to degrade and I cut and relight the stick with 25mm of variance I think I let it run past the touchup stage. At that stage I was sitting in what I could only describe as a bushfire as I had a pile of tobacco in the ashtray billowing smoke as well as a newly lit stick which seemed to want to compete with it. Lucky me, it was a good stick so I was not overly upset.

Transitioning into the third 3^rd the stick started to develop a nutty flavor into the mix in addition to the slightest inklings of heat. As time went by the nut disappeared as quickly as it arrived. The burn continued to offend; lesson learned 15 minutes prior, I elected to reign the burn in with the lighter.

Third 3^rd 1hour 10 min

During the third 3^rd there were still no significant changes in flavor or body. The heat experienced was slowly but surely starting to increase but fortunately managed to remain subtle and in the background.

Burn issues continued to be a problem throughout requiring attention every 5-10 minutes, fortunately quick touchups were not degrading the flavour or introducing any additional menacing heat.

Toward the end of the third 3^rd the heat started to ramp up and overwhelm the flavours of the stick. I elected to put the stick down at 1 hour 45 with approx. 50mm remaining.

Overall this stick would have to have been one of the most consistent flavoured sticks I have ever smoked. No significant additions, subtractions or transitions throughout the considerable length of this behemoth of a torpedo

The burn of this stick required constant attention which I found unfortunate. Burn issues aside this stick was a pleasure to smoke, solid full body and strength is enough to keep anyone interested and abuzz with nicotine. If you intend on picking any of these up make sure you have at least 2 hours spare to smoke one, socially smoking one of these would see 3 hours easily.

I have smoked 8 of these Dragons to date and this is the only stick of the 8 to present burn issues, as for flavour they have all been consistent. I would happily pickup another bundle of 20 to share and enjoy over time.

Suggested pairing; this is a hard one, If I were to pair with this full strength stick it would have to be a robust Barossa shiraz or a cask strength whisky like Aberlour A'bunadh or Glenfarclas 105.

Thanks for reading.